GLENDALE, Ariz. — Baffling.
Illogical.
Reckless.
One misguided play call late in Super Bowl XLIX left the Seattle Seahawks deflated.
Sunday morning, reports began to circulate that the Seahawks had offered running back Marshawn Lynch a sizable contract extension.
It would ensure the heartbeat of their offense, the soul of their swagger, would finish his career in Seattle.
So one yard away from winning a second straight Super Bowl and three chances to punch it in, Lynch was getting the ball, right?
Wrong.
With the contract extension, the Seahawks obviously trust Lynch enough to double his salary for next season to a reported $10 million.
The Seahawks trust Lynch enough that they reversed course from earlier in the season. His career-high 13 touchdowns changed general manager John Schneider’s mind after all indications were this would be Lynch’s last year as a Seahawk.
But Carroll doesn’t trust Lynch to gain the one yard that would rocket the franchise into NFL immortality as just the ninth team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
Instead, the second-down call was a slant route that had backup receiver Ricardo Lockette run into the middle of New England Patriot’s defense.
The timing had to be perfect. The route had to be perfect. The throw had to be perfect. There were so many opportunities for something to go wrong.
And it did.
Malcom Butler stepped in front of Lockette to snatch the football with 20 seconds remaining.
After the game, Pete Carroll said he, not offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, made the call.
“I said throw the ball,” Carroll said. “That was my call totally.
“It’s a very, very hard lesson,” he added. “I hate to learn the hard way, but there’s no other way to look at it right now.”
Wilson also took blame.
“I put the blame on me,” he said. “I’m the one who threw the ball. I’m proud of our guys.”
It was a stunning reversal after Seattle was in prime position to win. Jermaine Kearse’s nearly impossible catch while sitting on his rear conjured up shades of David Tyree, the New York Giants receiver whose inexplicable helmet catch on this same field doomed the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
Most of the focus after Sunday’s game will be on that goal line interception and play call. And that’s a shame.
It will overshadow maybe the greatest performance of Tom Brady’s Hall of Fame career. His 37th completion of the game, the game-winning touchdown pass to Julian Edelman, was a Super Bowl record. It was also his 13th Super Bowl TD pass on a day he broke Joe Montana’s record of 11.
Brady also took a bite out of the mystique of Seattle’s defense. You can put to rest the “best-ever” talk. Legendary defenses don’t give up back-to-back touchdowns while protecting a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl.
Part of what makes Carroll great is his unconventional nature. He runs the team unlike anyone else. With a loose swagger, he relates to players unlike anyone else.
But it’s a double-edged sword. When all the Seahawks needed to do was the sensible thing, Carroll rolled the dice.
And he crapped out, big time.
